With advertising shrinking and newspapers vanishing, Maine’s largest newspaper group became the latest to try a nonprofit model with the completion of the sale of more than 20 daily and weekly newspapers, including the Portland Press Herald.
The National Trust for Local News, which already owns two dozen newspapers in Colorado, is expanding its portfolio through the purchase of five daily newspapers and 17 weekly newspapers that were part of Masthead Maine. Former Masthead owner Reade Brower retained ownership of several weeklies that weren’t part of the deal.
The newspapers will now fall under the umbrella of the Maine Trust for Local News with the closing of the deal on Tuesday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
